Weighing, blending, elevating, and sifting machine



NOV. 1935- F. x. LAUTERBUR ET AL 2,019,574

WEIGHING, BLENDING, ELEVAT ING AND SIFTING MACHINE,

Filed Jan. 2, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TORS 1L4 x11. M; fiat-.4.

ATTORNEY :mmun- Nov. 5, 1935- F. x. LAUTERBUR El AL 2,019,574

WEIGHING, BLENDING, ELEVATING AND SIFTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 2, 1929 6Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS A TTORNEYJ F. x. LAUTERBUR ET AL 2,019,574

BLENDING, ELEVATING AND SIFTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 2, 1929 Nov. 5, 1935.

' WEIGHING,

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. v5, 1935- F. x. LAUTERBUR ET AL 2,019,574

WEIGHING, BLENDING, ELEVATING AND SIFTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 2, 1929 aSheet s-Sheet 4 INVENTORS I In X ATTORNEY-f 1935- F. x. LAUTERBUR El AL2,019,574

WEIGHING, BLENDING, ELEVATING AND SIFTING MACHIIiE Filed Jan. 2, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 A TTORNEYS Nov. 5, 1935. F. x. LAUTERBUR El AL2,019,574

WEIGHING, BLENDING, ELEVATING AND SIFTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 2, 1929 6Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE W'EIGHING,BLEN'DING, ELEVATING, AND SIFTING MACHINE bur, deceased ApplicationJanuary 2, 1929, Serial No. 329,739

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to weighing, blending,

elevating and sifting machines in which there is such a coordination ofoperation and corelation of parts that the entire assembly may bemounted on a scale and batches of blended and sifted material, such asflour, may be dispensed or. discharged, for example, into a dough mixer,without interfering with continuity of the operation,

01' the mechanism and with great accuracy.

In the United States Patent No. 1,434,618 of Frank X. Lauterbur, thereis described a machine for weighing, blending, elevating and siftingflour, which, in the particular modification illustrated, has a motordrive mounted independently of the mechanism, but so flexibly connectedtherewith as to permit weighing of discharged batches without bindingthe scale. Our present invention relates to improvements in thestructure and in the principle of operation of the in vention broadlydisclosed in the aforenoted patent.

It is the object of our invention to combine the various mechanicalparts required for blending, elevating, sifting and discharging as aunitary structure, preferably also including the motor drive therefor ona scale. It is our object to provide a scale which will be more readilyaccessible for setting than such scales have heretofore, to the best ofour knowledge and belief, been, and in which the amount to be dischargedmay be controlled by a setting on a-beam or. beams in a direct readingwithout the necessity of subtracting to determine the net weight to be.dispensed.

It is further our object to provide a combination which, due to itsconstruction, may be used with parts of the mechanism on one floor andother parts on' another floor, so that the combination. will morereadily adapt itself for convenient and economical installation. It isfurther an object to provide a combination which will readily adaptitself to the positioning of the parts indifferent relative positions,one group of mechanism being adapted to be mounted either directly belowor directly opposite another group of mechanism.

It is finally our object to provide an automatic electrical control forthe mechanism which will become effective at the end of the weighingoperationso that an operator may busy himself with other work withoutwaiting to shut the machine off after a batch has been dispensed.

The above and other objects to which reference will be-made in theensuing disclosure I.ac-

complish by that certain combination and arrangement of parts of which Ihave shown a preferred embodiment.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine all assembled on one floor.5'

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the machine shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the weighing apparatus on an enlargedscale, the combination of parts being the same as that shown in Fig- 10ures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a. detail view showing the upper conveyor or sifter shown inthe combination illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 5 is a detail view showing the blender and. weighing apparatusshown in Figures 1 and 2 on an enlarged scale.

Figure 6 shows a combination in which the blender and sifter is on onefloor while the weighing beams and dough mixer are installed on thefloor below.

Figure 7 is an end elevation of the combination shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 shows another combination in which the dough mixer and sifterare mounted on the floor above the scales and blender, the weighingbeams in this instance also being on the upper floor.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary elevation of the blending bin with the meansfor releasing to weighing position.

Figure 10 is a side elevation of the blending bin showing the supportsin weighing position.

Referring first to the combination illustrated in Figures 1-5, we haveshown the blending bin I having therein a rotatable shaft 2 whichcarries spiral ribbon-like agitators 3. The ribbonlike agitators aresoarranged that material from within the bin I is fed toward the right asindicated in- Figure 5, where it is received in a hopper or pocket 6; Atthe top of the bin I, I have provided hinged drop doors la as indicatedby the dot and dash lines. These drop doors are the inlet openings forthe materials put into the bin. casing 8 are mounted on the shaft 2which carry the endless chain supports 1a for a bucket conveyor havingbuckets 8a which pick up the flour and deliver it through a head casing9 into a dis-. charging hopper Ill. The discharging hopper has a spiralconveyor I l therein which is mounted on a shaft l2 driven by a largegear l3 which is engaged by the pinion l4 of an electric motor 15. Theshaft 12 is connected through gearing 55 Sprocket wheels I encased in anupright arm of the weighing scale beam 43.

to means which engage and drive the chain supports of the bucketconveyor I6.

The spiral conveyor I I feeds the flour which it picks up from thebucket conveyor or elevator into a sifting head I1. The shaft I2 extendsthrough the sifting head and has a brush type agitator I8 looselymounted thereon. The clutch bearings I 9 which are loose on the shaftsupport the brush agitator. A clutch collar 20 is keyed on the shaft I2,and engages a clutch hearing which is mounted on the hub of the agitatorI8. This permits the hub and agitator to be removed from the shaft whenit is desired to remove the agitator through the end of the head. A tierod 2I extends from the head casing 9 to the head I1 to brace theassembly. A cylindrical screen 22 is also mounted in the sifting headthrough which the sifted flour will pass into the delivery chute 23which has a telescopic connection 24 with the dough mixer which isgenerally illustrated at 25.

We have also shown the liquid tempering tank 26, as set forth in UnitedStates Patent No. 1,657,264, associated with the dough mixer .25 butinasmuch as neither the dough mixer or the blending tank, because oftheir particular structure, are included in the combination disclosedherein, no further description is thought to be required of theirinternal or operative construction.

The blending hopper and elevator casing and sifting mechanism, includingthe electric motor for driving same, are mounted on tie beams. 21, itbeing understood that the telescopic joint of the discharge chute willallow the entire assembly to be weighed as a unit.

The weighing apparatus, with the exception of the beam, is of usualconstruction. A drop handle 29 is connected by the link 29 to the droparm 30, fixed on one of two shafts 3I mounted in the drop brackets 32;the two shafts 3I being connected by link 3 la to rotate in unison. Whenthe handle 28 is shifted the cams 3211 which are .fixed on therespective shafts 3| are released,

thereby permitting the tie beams to rest on the bearing pins 32b. Thesuspension links 35 then transmit the suspended weight of the mechanismto the arms 33, which are suspended by knives 34 from the suspensionlinks 36. The suspension links 36 are pivotally mounted on thesuspension pins 31 carried by the suspension brackets 38. The suspensionbrackets are fastened to the base frame. Through the lever 39 andstirrup 40 and clevis 4| the suspended weight is transferred to the hookrod 42 which is attached to the short The movement of the beam isregulated by a connection 44 with a dash pot 45 and it will be notedthat in the modification illustrated in Figure 3, when the dash pot ispulled up, it engages and holds closed a cut-out switch 46 which,through electrical connections I5a and I5b, is connected in the powerfeed lines to the driving motor I5, as shown by the wiring diagram inFigure 3.

The scale beam consists of a lower or weighing beam 41 which it will benoted has graduations extending in increasing gradations from thepivoted end of the beam toward the free end. The weighing beam istraversed by the poise 48. The beam has three arms, the upper and middlearms 49 and 59 respectively having gradations in increasing amountsextending from the free to the pivoted end. The upper beams are forweighing out the material to be dispensed, and are traversed by thepoises 5| and 52 respectively. The.

beam is further provided with an adjustment weight 53 which functions inthe usual manner.

In the combination shown in Figures 6 and. '7, it will be noted that theblender and sifter are incorporated in a single continuous hopper 54 5having a sifting head Ila. and a discharge chute 23a. into a dough mixer25 located on the floor below. The weighing apparatus is mountedundemeath the mechanism on the upper floor, but

the connecting rod 42 extends down through an 10 opening in the floor tothe scale beam 43 which is mounted on the same floor'as the mixer. Thereis a shifting rod 28 for the weighing apparatus on the upper floor sothat an operator may balance his scale on the lower floor and make hissettings for the amount he is to discharge and then release the shiftingrod on the upper floor. In some installations such an arrangement isadvantageous, although as indicated, we prefer to provide an auxiliaryshifting rod. 280. 20 on the lower floor so that the operator may throwhis apparatus into weighing position from either floor.

In Figure 8 a still different combination is disclosed. In thiscombination the blender I is ar- 25 ranged on a weighing platform on alower floor and the hook rod 42 extended up through an opening in thefloor to the weighing beams 48 located on the floor above. On the floorabove are mounted the hopper and the sifting head. 30

The dough mixer is also located on the upper floor. The combination thusprovided will be found to be very economical of floor space as both theblending hopper and the mixing bowl can be arranged substantially onebelow the 3 other.

Modifications in the particular mechanism described will readily occurto those skilled in the art, but insofar as such modifications haveincorporated therein the inventive principle involved, we consider themwithin the scope: of our invention.

The operation of the mechanism will be apparent. The operator weighsgross the weight of 'the material on the beam 41, the gross weight 45 ofthe apparatus being ordinarily balanced by auxiliary weights. He thensets the poises on the beams 49 and 56. During the balancing of the beam41 the cut-out switch 46 is closed. The operator then closes anotherswitch 460. in the motor circuit, as shown in Figure 3, and theapparatus is thus started up. As soon as the amount of material to bedischarged, as predetermined by the direct weight settings of beams 49and 59, has been dispensed, the composite 55 beam drops at its free end,thereby opening the switch 46 and shutting down the driving motor. Theswitch 46 is so positioned on the suspended apparatus that it is up outof range of the dash pot 45 and cannot be closed until the lever 28 isthrown and the apparatus is lowered into balancing position. Thisprevents the operation of theapparatus except when it is properly setfor weighing.

While we have discussed the apparatus described in connection with theweighing out of flour, it will be apparent that any dispensing apparatussuch as might be used for dispensing a predetermined weight of materialin pellet or granular form, might be mounted on a scale of similarconstruction and an electrical control such as is described providedtherefor.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In combination, a beam scale having conveying and sifting mechanismcarried entirely thereon, said scale having a composite scale beam withgross weight graduations reading from the pivoted end of the beam to thefree end, and net weight graduations reading from the free end of thebeam to the pivoted end, a motor for driving said apparatus also carriedby said scale, and means for inhibiting the operation of said motoreffective by said scale beam.

2. In a device of the character specified, in combination with a scalemechanism comprising a bin, a rotary sifter mechanism, a conveyorextending between said bin and sifter mechanism,

means for mounting said mechanism on said scale, and means for alsomounting a motor for driving said mechanism on said scale, said scalehaving a composite beam comprising gross beam or beams which is adaptedto weigh the several devices mounted on said scale plus the contentsthereof, and a net beam or beams which is adapted to weigh a netquantity to be dispensed.

3. In combination with a scale on which apparatus comprising a bin forexcess material, a conveyor and an electric motor for driving same aremounted, means for weighing out a net weight in a direct reading fromsaid excess material, and means for automatically cutting of! said motorat the end of a weighing out operation comprising a cut-out switch inthe power circuit to said motor, and means for moving said apparatusinto and out of position to be carried by said scale, said cut-outswitch being so positioned on said apparatus relative to said scale asto keep said circuit broken excepting when said scale has said apparatuscarried thereon.

4. In a weighing and dispensing machine, a scale comprising meanswhereby it may be adjusted to have a movement upon removal of a desiredweight of material therefrom, mechanism carried by said scale, operativeto remove material therefrom, means controlling the operation of saidmechanism and actuated incident to said movement of the scale to stopthe operation of said mechanism, and means operative to prevent orpermit said movement of the scale, actuating said controlling means toprevent operation of said mechanism upon operation to prevent saidmovement of the scale.

5. In a machine of the character described, a scale, means on said scalefor holding material,

means on said scale for discharging material from said holding means, anelevator extending up from said discharging means and also beingsupported on said scale, a conveyor extending laterally from the upperpart of said elevator to 5 discharge to receiving means displacedlaterally from the scale, and mechanism for driving said dischargingmeans, said elevator and said conveyor, also mounted entirely on saidscale, said scale comprising a beam with a plurality of poises andseries of graduations for the respective poises to indicate theiradjustments, one to weigh the contents of the holding means plus theweight of the structure on the scale, and the other to weigh an amountdischarged from the holding means, up through the elevator and outthrough the conveyor, and mean whereby the scale acts, upon discharge ofthe amount weighed by said other poise, to stop operation of thedischarging means. 6. In a machine of the character described, a scaleand material holding and discharging structure supported by the scale,said scale comprising levers fulcrumed at respective remote locationsalong the extension of the holding structure and supportingly engagingsaid structure substantially near their respective fulcrums, and a beamconnecting with said levers and provided with means for indicating theweight imposed on the scale and transmitted through said levers, saidmachine also comprising means for manually relieving the scale leversand beam of the weight of the structure and contents of the scale, thedischarging structure including a motor for actuating it, said machinealso comprising operatively connecting means whereby the movement of thebeam that connects the levers effects stoppage of the motor, and themeans for indicating the weight on the scale including means preventingmotor-stopping movement of said beam until a predetermined amount ofmaterial has been removed from the holding means, to a place where theremoved material is no longer supported by the scale beam and levers,said operatively connecting means comprising elements displaced fromcoacting relation incident to the relief of the scale levers and beam ofthe weight, to prevent operation of the motor unless the scale is inweighing condition.

FRANK X. LAUTERBUR. EDWARD J. LAUTERBUR.

